Creditors seek bankruptcy for H1N1 vaccine maker

By IBT Staff Reporter On 06/23/09 AT 11:23 AM

NEW YORK - Three creditors of Protein Sciences Corp, maker of a next-generation vaccine for the H1N1 flu, have requested the company be put into bankruptcy and that a trustee be appointed to replace its management, court filings showed.

The creditors, which have total claims of about $11.7 million against Protein Sciences, filed an involuntary Chapter 7 petition in Delaware late on Monday.

Meriden, Connecticut-based Protein Sciences said last week it began producing a vaccine that protects humans against the H1N1 flu and expects to produce 100,000 doses of the vaccine per week. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the virus a pandemic.

Emergent BioSolutions Inc of Rockville, Maryland, said earlier this month that it had filed suit to take possession of Protein Sciences' assets. Emergent said the assets had served as collateral to secure a $10 million loan that it made to Protein Sciences in connection with its plan to buy the company's assets.

Emergent Manufacturing Operations Meriden LLC listed itself as the largest creditor in the Chapter 7 filing, with a claim of $11.5 million.

The petitioners have also requested the appointment of an independent Chapter 7 trustee to oversee the liquidation process of Protein Sciences. They said they had lost faith in Protein Sciences' management and its ability to run the business.

Protein Sciences could not immediately be reached for comment.

The case is In re: Protein Sciences Corp, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware, No. 09-12151. (Reporting by Tom Hals and Santosh Nadgir; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)